Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday came out against a tentative deal reached by the US and Iran for the latter to release five American detainees in exchange for the release of several billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
“Israel’s position is known, according to which arrangements that do not dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will not stop its nuclear program and will only provide it with funds that will go to terrorist elements sponsored by Iran,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
The deal announced Thursday, alongside Iran’s transfer of the American detainees from prison to house arrest, came together after months of indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials.
Details of the money transfer, the timing of its completion and the ultimate release of both the American and Iranian prisoners remain unclear. However, US and Iranian officials say they believe the agreement could be complete by mid- to late-September.
Under the tentative agreement, the US has given its blessing to South Korea to convert frozen Iranian assets held there from the South Korean currency, the won, to euros.